Chapter 34
Nicholas
“Knock it off, Kai,” Sandy complained.
Nicholas turned the corner into her office. Malachi played with the string of yarn dangling from her sweater as she reached for a box high on a shelf. The string of yarn almost brushed the ground.
“Did he do that?” Nicholas’s tone was reprimanding, startling Sandy. He caught her before she slipped from her stepstool.
“Crap-on-a-cracker, Nicholas. Make some noise, why don’t you?”
“On a cracker?” He glared at Kai, who went running toward the front, where Zeke and Mike were.
“Yeah, well, I can’t exactly curse around you, now can I?”
According to her husband, Sandy cursed like a sailor. Ever since Nicholas met her, she’d been coming up with inventive ways to indulge in her habit while being respectful of him.
“It’s fine, Sandy. I’m not a part of the church anymore.” He set the box on her junk-filled desk. “Even I curse sometimes.”
She quirked a disbelieving brow. “Seriously? Let me hear it.”
Nicholas felt shy all of a sudden. “Maybe later.”
She gave him a wry look. “That’s what I thought. And yes, that adorable little demon seems to have an obsession with yarn. He saw a string hanging there, and hasn’t stopped screwing with it ever since you left.”
“Sorry about that.”
Sandy waved him off. “It’s fine. Gives me an excuse to start on a new one—after I finish with yours.”
Nicholas hoped his expression conveyed excitement, but Sandy scoffed at him.
“Hey,” she said cheerfully. “I never asked about your friend Gabriel. How’s he doing? And are you using his skincare routine now?”
She slipped her glasses on, perusing his face.
“He’s fine,” he said before changing the subject. “So, a retention cyst?”
Mike had already made the vet visit and returned.
“Yeah, poor thing.” Sandy rummaged through the box as she spoke. “The procedure was quick and painless. She’s resting now.”
She blew out a frustrated breath, shoving her braids out of her face.
“What are you looking for? Maybe I can help.”
Sandy chuckled, looking around at the destruction of her office. She’d obviously been searching for something for some time.
“I honestly don’t even know anymore.”
Mike could be heard showing customers to the backyard to spend time with some of the animals. The chime on the front door went off, signaling new arrivals.
“Honey! Can you man the front for a little while?”
“Sure!” Sandy stared down at her sweater. Two wet spots had formed around her chest. “Shit, I’ve gotta pump.”
“I’ll watch the front for a bit; you do whatever you need to do in here.”
Sandy gave him a tired but grateful smile.
Nicholas directed the newcomers to the puppy area before checking on Kai and Zeke. Mike had placed them in a crate behind the counter. He stuck around until closing, earning him a huge hug from both Mike and Sandy.
“You wouldn’t happen to be looking for a job, would you?” she asked jokingly.
“Actually, I sorta am.”
“Really?”
Nicholas chuckled at her bug-eyed expression. “Really.”
“Give him whatever he wants!” Mike shouted from somewhere.
“I don’t need much.”
Kindness Refuge operated on grants and donations, and most of what they earned went back into the business.
“Don’t be silly. Name your price.”
“Well, can you pay me enough to cover half my rent?” By that math, he’d have earned enough to pay his rent for another two months by the time the funds he currently had saved ran out.
“Just until I get something else paying more, which hopefully won’t be long. Then I’ll work here on a volunteer basis.”
Sandy stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. “You are just the sweetest. But we got a huge donation while you were off at your retreat! The biggest we’ve ever received. Enough for a few renovations and to keep this place running for years—and to pay you what you deserve, of course.”
“Are you serious?” Now he was the bug-eyed one. “That’s great. Where’d the donation come from?”
“Some coffee-importing corporation. Can you believe it?”
A chill that had nothing to do with his gift rushed through him.
“Anyway, I can’t believe you were willing to help us out for practically nothing. I mean, what about everything else? Food? Water?”
Nicholas tried to shake off his shock and match her lightheartedness.
“Eh, both are overrated if you ask me.”
She giggled, coming in for a hug. “Don’t worry. We’ll help you keep a roof over your head, feed and water you—and give you free pets!”
Nicholas groaned, loving the sound of that, but knowing he couldn’t fit one more thing inside his apartment.
“Do you guys need help cleaning up?”
“No. You’ve done more than enough.” She handed him his skateboard and helped the dogs out of the crate before shooing them out the door.
“Oh! I forgot to ask how your first day of classes went. How does it feel to be an engineer in the making?”
Nicholas adjusted his satchel and secured his grip on the leashes.
“I wouldn’t know,” he said coyly.
“What do you mean? Why not?”
“Because I decided to change my course load and major.”
“To what?” She beamed.
Nicholas skated away, shouting over his shoulder, “Veterinary medicine.”
“Of all the things on the list, why do we have to start with the most dangerous ones first?”
“You call going to listen to a band dangerous?” Mateo flipped through the clothes hanging on the closet rack, unperturbed by Nicholas’s lack of enthusiasm.
“The music will be loud. There’ll be speakers everywhere, fans screaming and singing along. I’m still not used to that level of noise. What if I get overstimulated and freeze the whole venue?”
It was a stretch, and Mateo’s expression said he thought as much, but Nicholas was nervous.
“Can’t we just stay in and…” He read through the ‘adventure list’ for something more careful. “Have a beer?”
Mateo yanked the notepad away from him.
“First of all, I was on your front steps when Hamza dropped you off after the boxing gym. I could hear Mobb Deep blasting from five blocks away.”
Nicholas had no argument there.
The dogs grew bored with them, slinking out of the bedroom.
“And there will be beer at the music hall.” He took the pen from Nicholas, checking off alcohol. “And there will be weed had before we go in.”
“Drugs?”
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, Nicky,” he muttered, clearly using Nicholas’s immortality to his advantage. He checked something called Kush off the list.
“Oh, and you will be dressed like a bad bitch.” Another check.
“A bad what?” Nicholas grabbed the list back, noting ‘bad bitch attire’ scribbled at the bottom.
“That wasn’t there before.”
“Sure it was. Now…” Mateo went back to the clothing rack. “We’ve got lots to work with here.”
Most of that stuff dated back to when Nicholas worked for Eliana. He crossed his arms, gearing up for a battle of wills.
Mateo held up a black mini-blazer dress, and Nicholas lost some steam. It was the dress he wore the first night he met Gabriel.
“Okay,” he said, speaking through the longing that had a hold on him. “But I’m wearing baggy jeans with it.”
“Skinny jeans,” Mateo shot back.
“No.”
“It’s called compromise,” his friend said in a singsong-y tone.
“Fine. But with a long-sleeve top.”
Mateo slung a pair of matching skinny jeans over his shoulder, reaching for another hanger. He presented Nicholas with a sheer cropped tank.
“I said a long-sleeve shirt.”
“Okay, a regular tank then. Compromise.”
Nicholas gritted his teeth. “That won’t work next time.”
Mateo smiled triumphantly, yanking a silky tank off its hanger and slinging that over his shoulder too. He dug around the shoe rack next, while Nicholas tried to peer over his broad shoulders. He spun around, holding a pair of shiny stilettos.
“Absolutely not.” Nicholas’s jaw hardened. He thought back to the client who demanded he keep those heels on while he fucked him. Nicholas could still feel his bad breath rolling across his skin. Of course, Mateo didn’t know that, but it didn’t matter.
“I’ll wear those biker boots you got me for Christmas.” He pointed at them. Mateo didn’t look pleased.
“I don’t get it. All this fuss to watch some up-and-coming band perform in an intimate setting?”
“About that…”
Nicholas’s stomach dipped.
“Mateo?”
“They may already be up, and they may be performing in an arena. Oh, and we may or may not have been invited to a star-studded after party.” He rushed out the last part, but unluckily for him, Nicholas had exceptional hearing.
“A party?”
“It’s not a club or anything. It’s… intimate.”
“Like the performance was supposed to be?”
“This time I’m telling the truth. Come on, Nicky. Wasn’t this the whole point? You’ve never lived. This is all part of living.”
Nicholas couldn’t argue that point.
“I might hate it.”
“Or you might love it. Either way, how will you know unless you try?”
Nicholas sighed, closing his eyes for a beat.
“You’re right.”
Fear was all part of the process, but so was overcoming it.
“I may need to be reminded of that a lot. Okay?”
“I’ve got you.” He dangled the stilettos in front of him.
Nicholas snatched the other items from him, tossing the heels to the back of the closet.
“Out,” he said. “I need to get ready.”
Mateo closed the bedroom door behind him.
Nicholas emerged an hour later, showered, dressed, hair secured in four back braids.
His best friend let out a low whistle. “You look fucking hot, Nicky.”
He sounded sincere, and the tension in Nicholas’s body eased.
“Thanks. You look nice too.”
Mateo had changed into a fitted V-neck sweater and tailored slacks, both contoured to his body. He complemented the outfit with a gaudy gold bracelet that actually worked on him, and his five o’clock shadow gave him an edge.
“What are you hiding?”
Mateo chuckled nervously before opening his hand. “Just getting it ready for later.”
He held a thin, white joint. The smell of it, along with the scent of his shame, surrounded Nicholas. Prior to today, Nicholas hadn’t even been aware that Mateo smoked. What else did he not know about his friend? What else had he kept hidden in fear of Nicholas’s disapproval of it—or of him?